


Lucre - Cruise Ship Case

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1350]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 01:49:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20350366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: When Gibbs is reviewing his team's information, he notices that Tony was a lot more flush than he remembered. On top of that, Tony turns in his notice and Gibbs realizes that if he's not careful he'll lose Tony from his life for good.





	Lucre - Cruise Ship Case

**Author's Note:**

> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 01/10/2003 for the word [lucre](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2003/01/10/lucre).
> 
> lucre[ loo-ker ]  
noun  
monetary reward or gain; money.
> 
> This is for prompt #1 of the March 2019 Five Prompts Challenge located [here](https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/190879.html). I'm not sure this really fits the prompt, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Gibbs frowned as he noticed the change in DiNozzo’s NCIS profile. What had happened to result in that kind of lucre? Last time he’d checked Tony hadn’t had that much in the way of assets. 

Why hadn’t Tony told him? He’d thought they were best friends. Maybe being Tony’s boss was more counterproductive to their friendship than he’d realized. 

Of course, that wasn’t the only shock he was to be dealt this week. It was Wednesday and not only were they embroiled in a doozy of a case, but DiNozzo had actually turned in his notice. Gibbs couldn’t believe that Tony was leaving him. 

They’d been flirting off and on for years and Gibbs had always hoped that they would get together. Of course, Tony flirted with everybody, but it had always seemed different when Tony did it with him. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on Gibbs’ part, however. 

Still did he really have anything to lose? Tony would be leaving soon, so even if he took a chance and fell flat on his face it wasn’t like he’d have to see the guy every day for much longer. Though, Gibbs really didn’t want to ruin their friendship.

At least, he'd gotten Tony to promise to stay until they solved this case. Too bad he couldn't make the case last forever. Or could he?

Gibbs looked at what they knew about the case again. There had to be something that he could use to keep Tony here longer. Or at least something he could do to find out if Tony was really interested in him.

Tony leaving would be a huge setback for him, not only at NCIS, but personally too. He knew it wasn’t fair to Tony, that leaving would only improve Tony’s career options for him, but he still didn’t want him to leave. Right as that thought passed through his mind, he spotted the key piece of information he needed to setup a plan to find out what Tony felt for him.

It turned out that each and every person murdered had been part of a couple that had gone on a special couple’s cruise. It wouldn’t have been an NCIS case at all if it weren’t that the latest victim was in the Navy. Though, it looked like this cruise was actually being run by some Navy rejects. 

Which meant that they couldn’t go on the cruise as NCIS agents as it would be a dead giveaway. The cruise was open to all couples including same sex couples, though, so he and Tony could go undercover as a gay couple and go on the cruise. That would be perfect.

With a plan in place, Gibbs headed home. He’d already sent the team home a couple of hours ago. Tomorrow, they could start fresh and plan the undercover op. 

He shot Abby a message to prepare undercover profiles for Tony and him as soon as she came in the next day. He wanted the ball rolling before anyone could wonder for too long why he and Tony were the ones going undercover. With that done, Gibbs started working on sanding his boat as he contemplated what surprises he wanted to reveal to sell their story for the op and find out whether Tony might be interested in him at the same time.

One thing was for sure. He was looking forward to touching Tony and kissing him whenever he felt like it. He fully intended to play that lovey dovey couple that everyone hated because they wouldn’t stop with the PDA. Gibbs fell asleep imagining how the undercover op would go.

Abby was in early, working on their cover stories, and Gibbs dropped off a Caf-Pow for her. “Are you going to stop Tony from leaving?”

“I’ll do my best, Abs.”

“You better. Things won’t be the same if Tony leaves.”

Gibbs nodded, heading upstairs and settling behind his desk. He couldn’t wait for the rest of the team to arrive so that he could explain what the new plan was. He was really looking forward to pretending to be Tony’s boyfriend. 

Tony was the first to arrive and Gibbs almost blurted out the plan then, but he knew that would give Tony too much time to think of how to get out of it. Fortunately, McGee and Bishop arrived not long after Tony. “DiNozzo. Go see Abby about your cover story.”

Tony frowned, but nodded and headed down to the lab. 

“Tony’s going undercover?” McGee queried.

“Yep.”

“Why not me?”

“You really want to be my boyfriend?” Gibbs gave McGee a look.

“Uh. I guess not,” McGee muttered.

“You and Tony are going undercover? Why? What about our case?”

“It’s for the case. All of the victims went on the same couple’s cruise.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for Bishop to go undercover with Tony?”

Gibbs shook his head. “No. They’re already suspicious. A heterosexual couple would be checked more thoroughly. They wouldn’t expect cops to go undercover as a gay couple.”

Bishop and McGee exchanged looks, but stopped questioning after that. 

“You guys figure out the back up. I’m going to go check on DiNozzo,” Gibbs ordered.

By the time Gibbs made it down to the lab, Tony was already yelling. “I can’t go undercover as the boss’ boyfriend or husband or whatever we would be.”

“Why not?” Gibbs growled as he entered the room.

“Because I,” Tony stopped, biting down the rest of the words.

“Because you what?” Gibbs demanded. It was obvious Tony was hiding something from him and he wanted to know what.

“It’s nothing.” 

Gibbs glared, but Tony ignored him. “Why are you and I going undercover instead of Bishop and I, anyway?”

“The guys that run the cruise are already suspicious. You and I won’t stand out as likely law enforcement the way Bishop and you would. Plus, we know more about each other and can fake being a couple easier than you and Bishop. Unless there’s something you haven’t told me?”

Tony shook his head.

“Then it’s settled. No more you can’t go undercover with me?”

Tony nodded.

“Good. Are you ready?”

“What?”

“The next cruise leaves tomorrow, so we need to compare cover stories and pack if we’re going to make it in time.”

Tony sighed. “So fast?”

Gibbs shrugged in a what can you do motion. 

“You got my cover identity, Abs?”

“Right here, Boss-man.” Abby handed over the identity he would be using for the cruise.

“So I’m Jason Brink, now?” Gibbs wrinkled his forehead at that name.

“Abs, you didn’t.”

“Yep. Figured it would be easier for you to remember that way.”

Tony buried his forehead in his hands. 

“What? What am I missing?”

“Abby has basically made you Jason Bourne.”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s an alias for a character in a film series. The alias was a Force Reconnaissance Marine Captain, basically a more kickass version of you, Gibbs.”

“Huh. Who are you?” Gibbs nodded to the papers Tony held in his hand.

“Tony Anuva.”

“Who?”

“That’s what I said. Abbs based the character off Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. So I get to play a dancer.”

“Anuva means knowledgeable and Manero is the spanish word for trained. It was as close as I could come without making something too suspicious.” Abby shrugged.

“Thanks Abs,” Gibbs murmured before turning to Tony and holding out his arm, “Shall we, Tony?”

“Of course, Jason. We best start practicing.”

Gibbs led Tony up to the bullpen where he demanded an update from McGee and Bishop on their plans for backup. Since the cruise would be in the middle of the ocean, it would be kind of noticeable if a ship started following the cruise ship, so they would have to be very careful and very creative in their disguises. 

“We got it all figured out, boss,” McGee announced. “You and Tony will be fitted out with earpieces and microphones. They have a range of about 200 to 300 feet, so Bishop and I should be able to stay in contact with you easily while the cruise is still near shore.”

“And when it gets too far away from shore, what then?” Tony asked. He had zero desire to get captured or stuck on a cruise ship forever because their backup couldn’t follow them closely enough. 

“Well the cruise ship has to post the route they’re taking with the coast guard for safety reasons, so we’ll get the route from them and plot a route that will allow us to stay in range, but out of sight. We’ll switch vehicles regularly, so that no one on the cruise gets suspicious that they’re being followed.”

“Do you have this route plotted already?” Gibbs grunted.

“Not yet, boss. We’re still working on it.”

“You have the rest of the day. Tony and I are going to get ready for our cruise. We’ll all meet back here at 5pm and you better have the route plotted.”

“Yes, Gibbs.”

Gibbs nodded and headed for the elevator, Tony trailing behind him. When they arrived at the parking garage, Gibbs ordered, “Go home. Pack. Then meet at my place.”

Tony nodded heading for his car and his apartment. Gibbs made his way home and quickly packed a bag with clothes that he hoped would work for his character. He set the bag by the door, wanting Tony to look through it and make sure they fit the Jason Bourne character that Abby had set him up as.

He then started pacing as he waited for Tony to arrive. He hoped that he was doing the right thing. Hearing that Tony didn’t want to go undercover with him, worried Gibbs.

Finally, the door opened and Tony walked in. Gibbs nodded at his luggage, “Would Jason Bourne wear those?”

Tony picked up the bag and took it to the couch as he started looking through it. “Yes, yes, yes. No, no, no.” He sorted the clothes out, putting the yes ones back in the bag. “Is this all you have? The bag is rather empty now.”

Gibbs shrugged and led Tony up to his closet. Tony went through the rest of Gibbs’ clothes with a thoughtful frown. “I’ll have to pick up some more clothes for you. Don’t worry. I’ll grab things you’ll like, but will also fit the Jason Brink character.”

Gibbs nodded. “Should we practice kissing and touching now? We don’t want our first kiss in front of everyone to look awkward.”

“I doubt that’s really a concern. I’m positive we’ve both kissed other people before. What’s really going on here, Gibbs?”

“What do you mean?”

“This case. The undercover operation. It doesn’t fit. Bishop and McGee might not realize it, but I do. You’re up to something. What is it?”

“Can’t a guy give his best friend an amazing send off without a ton of suspicion?”

“This is your way of giving me a good send off? I’d have been happy with a card and some chocolates or something, Gibbs. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble and it doesn’t make sense for you to do so unless there’s some other ulterior motive at play here.”

“What possible other motive could I have?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you want to see what that romance that you’ve been refusing to acknowledge for the past ten years might look like.”

Gibbs’ expression turned sheepish. “You knew? But then why are you leaving?”

“I got tired of waiting.”

Gibbs frowned. “You don’t have to wait any longer.”

“I shouldn’t have had to wait at all,” Tony pointed out, “If it weren’t for your stupid rules we would have been in a relationship many years ago.”

Gibbs didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t realized that he’d been hurting his best friend this much by staying silent. “I’m sorry.”

“I should have known that turning in my resignation would have spurred you to action. They do say you don’t know what you have until you lose it.”

“That’s not true. I’ve known all along what I’ve had. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had and I didn’t want to lose that for a romance that may or may not have worked. I didn’t even know you felt that way about me.”

“Oh, please, even Fornell could see how much I felt for you.”

“Really?”

Tony shook his head with a sad smile. “You really are dense sometimes, aren’t you?”

Gibbs shrugged. “What do you say, shall we give our relationship a real chance?”

“One chance, Gibbs, and relationship or not I’m still leaving NCIS when this case is done.”

Gibbs nodded. “Abby won’t like that, but I understand. Just so long as you don’t leave me when this case is done.”

“Don’t worry. You’d have to do something monumentally stupid to make me leave now and despite your previous track record I doubt you have that ability now that you’ve realized what you want.”

Gibbs chuckled and pulled Tony in for a kiss. Tony deepened the kiss and gave Gibbs as good as he was getting. When they finally pulled back, Gibbs gasped out, “Wow.”

Tony grinned as he glanced at the time. “We better be getting back to NCIS. I’ll pick up the rest of your clothes on my way in and then we can explore this relationship while making Bishop and McGee think that we’re just acting.”

“Sounds good and Tony,” Gibbs paused until Tony looked back at him, “I do love you.”

“Damn it, Gibbs. You can’t just say stuff like that. We have places to be.” Tony couldn’t stop himself from pulling Gibbs in for another kiss, however.

Needless to say, they were a little more rumpled than normal by the time they actually made it back to NCIS. Their acting on the cruise, however, was flawless. The murderers didn’t even know what hit them as everyone on that cruise was convinced that they were just a happy couple enjoying a trip together.

They even made McGee and Bishop question whether Tony and Gibbs could possibly be in a real relationship. They both shook their heads at that thought, but if they hadn’t known that this was an undercover op they both would have been convinced that Gibbs and Tony were in a committed relationship. It was actually rather impressive how easily Tony and Gibbs fooled the murderers into thinking they were harmless.

Tony and Gibbs could go anywhere on the boat and see anything and the murderers thought nothing of it because it just looked like they were fooling around and making out in any corner they could find. When the cruise ship pulled into the dock again, Gibbs and Tony marched the murders out along with all of the evidence and handed them off to Bishop and McGee to take to NCIS for interrogation.

They didn’t even need a confession with all the evidence they had, but Gibbs got one anyway. The team wrapped up the case and Tony left NCIS, but he didn’t go far and if Gibbs silently kept the clothes Tony bought him and wore them for dates with Tony, well he wasn’t telling anyone.

**Author's Note:**

> The dictionary.com series has 2 stories already written for it after this one, so I will be posting at least 2 more stories before I stop posting again. I'm hoping to get more stories written before then, so that I don't stop posting for a while. Wish me luck! 
> 
> It's 2019 now and I have closed my 2018 Prompt collection, but fear not my 2019 Prompt Collection is now open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2019/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;) It will remain open until the beginning of 2020. I'm hoping to complete all the 2019 prompts by the end of 2020. Do not fear I have not forgotten about the 2018 prompts and will continue working through them. It's just easier for me to not get overwhelmed if I keep the prompts separated by the year they were given to me.
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes. Please note if you have already voted in the poll and would like to request more stories you can just add a comment to the poll. Please include the name along with the prompt, so that I can appropriately gift the prompt to you.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


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